The invention relates generally to data processing, and more specifically, to user-configurable settings for web-based advertising.
Targeted web-based advertising typically employs some analysis of a user's browsing history to estimate what types of products and/or services the user may be interested in. For example, if the user searches various websites for digital cameras, it is assumed that the user may be interested in purchasing a digital camera. However, once the user has purchased the item, the user may no longer desire to see advertisements directed to that subject matter. In addition, sometimes the browsing history can be misleading in that the user may be searching for items to purchase as a gift, though the user has no personal interest in that item and does not desire to see continuous advertisements directed to that item once the gift has been purchased. In addition, oftentimes the interests of the user change over time. An item that was searched last week may not be of current interest to the user.
It is clear that a primary goal of advertisers is to engage as many users as possible in clicking on advertisements that are embedded in web pages served to the users' devices. In addition, most users are amenable to receiving advertisements embedded in web pages that are of interest to the users. The challenge for advertisers is understanding what items or services are of interest to a user at any given point in time.